Search form

You are here

Faculty Guidance

WVPU believes that academic freedom and professional integrity are essential to the success of the university and its students. In order to foster greater understanding of academic policies and principles, faculty are asked to consult the Faculty Guidance webpage regarding the below topics. As a matter of principle, all academic issues, disputes and inquiries are to be addressed and resolved at the point of origin where possible, i.e. between individual student and faculty member. Where questions or concerns remain, the respective department head is responsible for addressing unresolved issues. Please note that this guide is based on the university's Academic Policies.

In alphabetical order

Academic HonestyIf a student cheats, plagiarizes or commits any other act of academic dishonesty, the first order of business is to see if you can resolve the matter with the student by failing the assignment or class. Once you have decided on a course of action, please inform your department head via email and copy the address cheat.report@webster.ac.at (for record keeping only) with the following information: faculty and student name, ID, course information (prefix, number, title, and section), type of issue (cheat, plagiarism) and assignment (test/paper/project), percentage of grade, score issued, and how you resolved the matter.

Email communicationsFaculty should communicate with students through their wesbter.edu or webster.ac.at email addresses for all official correspondence. Students are requested, but not required, to do the same.

Grading Scales and EntryInstructors should grade in-class assignments within two weeks of scheduled submission deadlines (see Study and Examination Guidelines). Final course grades should be entered online (see instructions here) within one week of the end of the term.Incompletes (I): Incompletes should only be used when the course spans multiple terms, such as in graduate thesis courses. Students should be graded according to the work they have submitted. If a student did not provide enough coursework to pass the course by the grading deadline, instructors should assign a grade of (F) and not an Incomplete. Please make sure that your students are informed of this and that a failing grade could lead to dismissal from the university.

Grading Scale: Instructors determine both the grading scale and the components of evaluation. Please find below examples for both undergraduate and graduate grading scales. Please note that these are only examples. You are not required to use these scales.

Rescheduling Class Sessions / Public Holiday PolicyAll cancelled class sessions are rescheduled in order to fulfill the necessary contact hours. When rescheduling a class session, please contact Facility (facility@webster.ac.at) to secure an appropriate room at an available time. Class sessions missed as a result of public holidays are also rescheduled.

Special studies (e.g. directed, independent, internships)Academic department heads are responsible for creating and registering independent studies, directed studies, internships, or any other special studies. While students are entitled to request such courses, the ultimate responsibility for approval rests with the respective department head. Once such a course is approved, the respective department head sends an email with course, faculty, and student information to the Academic Services Officer (maida.kojic-mcandrew@webster.ac.at), who then, in turn, communicates all relevant information to the Registrar (whitney.isaacs@webster.ac.at). The Registrar will only enter or change a course based on a communication from the Academic Services Office.

Student Assistance and Disability AccommodationFor students requiring special academic assistance or disability accommodation, faculty are kindly asked to refer here for details about the university's Learning Support Services.

Student AttendanceFaculty should take attendance by using the Attendance feature of WorldClassroom in order to verify enrollment data. This is very important for the first two and three weeks while students can still add and drop courses. Students who do not attend the first week’s sessions of any fully booked course (maximum registrants) and do not communicate their absence to the instructor will automatically be dropped from the course to free up space for those desiring to register for that course. If this happens (no show and no prior communication), please immediately send an email to the registrar, Ms. Whitney Isaacs (Whitney.Isaacs[at]webster.ac.at).

Student Course EvaluationsWebster University has established a systematic procedure for administering course evaluations in classrooms worldwide that are important for the university, its faculty and students. At the end of each course, students are asked to evaluate the respective faculty member and relevant coursework. Faculty are asked to leave the room while students complete the evaluations. These evaluation forms are to be found in the respective faculty member's mailbox. New faculty members undergo an additional student evaluation during the third week of classes.

Waitlists​When your course is full, students still wishing to join can be waitlisted (by their respective department coordinators) and added if/when a space opens. To see a full course roster, including waitlisted students, use the “Class Lists” feature in Connections as usual and make sure to select the “Include Wait Listed” button to the right. All students will then be listed in the roster; students who are waitlisted show “W/L” in the status column, all others will show “R”.